Equipment demos featured at Sunbelt

The difference is in the demos. That’s an apt description of the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition, which for years now has distinguished itself as, “The largest farm show in the world with field demonstrations.”

There’s always plenty of new equipment at the Expo, giving growers the opportunity to “kick the tires,” but they can also get into the fields on a 600-acre working farm to view harvest and tillage demonstrations and test-drive and use the latest equipment available to the agricultural industry.

During each day of the show, Oct. 19-21, there will be equipment demonstrations in the fields, weather permitting. From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day, the Tractor Driving Range and the Harvesting and Tillage Demonstrations will all be operating.

Tractor-drawn covered shuttle wagons will transport visitors to the fields to see the always-popular demonstrations. On the way, visitors will be able to get off the wagons and test-drive any number of new tractors, many with global positioning systems and other precision farming technology.

Major crops on the Expo farm this year include cotton, peanuts, corn, soybeans and bermudagrass hay. The Expo farm also features some of south Georgia’s largest plantings of alfalfa and perennial peanuts, both high-quality forage legume crops. 

Hay harvesting has always been one of the Expo’s most popular field demonstrations, attracting large crowds and offering the widest array of equipment. For the safety of Expo visitors, everyone attending the demonstrations is asked to stand behind the safety ropes in place this year.

Demonstrations in the fields are as follows, with all times being subject to change depending on weather or equipment:

Tuesday and Wednesday: 10 a.m. – Tedding; 10:30 a.m. – Raking; 11 a.m. – Cutting; 12 noon – Baling; 1 p.m. – Tedding; 1:30 p.m. – Raking; 2 p.m. – Baling; and 3 p.m. – Cutting. Thursday: 10 a.m. – Tedding; 10:30 a.m. – Raking; 11 a.m. – Baling; 1 p.m. – Cutting; 2 p.m. – Tedding; 2:30 p.m. – Raking; and 3 p.m. – Baling.
Several companies will be showcasing their new equipment offerings during the field demonstrations, including Krone NA, Inc., which will feature its EasyCut 3200 CV – Mower Conditioner; KWT 1122 – Tedder; Swadro 710T – Rotary Rake; VarioPack 1500 – Round Baler; and the Big Pack 1290 – Large Square Baler.